Friends of woman with cancer raise money to help pay for treatment - Gate House

By Thomas Caywood TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

February 17. 2014 8:10AM

Friends of woman with cancer raise money to help pay for treatment

Debbie Floyd of Holden, Tracy Longvall-Rivera's sister, right center, hugs her cousin Ryan Johnson of Northboro, who had just arrived at the benefit. (T&G Staff/BETTY JENEWIN)

WORCESTER — Dozens of state social workers and others packed into the Italian American Civic Club on Sunday afternoon to celebrate and raise money for one of their own with drinks, live music, a banquet dinner and raffles.

But the guest of honor, Tracy Longvall-Rivera of Holden, was far away from the function room and its tables of elaborately frosted cupcakes and the pop music hits played by two local cover bands.

She instead spent the afternoon at a Brookline rehabilitation clinic, where she's recovering from surgery and continuing with punishing radiation and chemotherapy treatments aimed at slowing an especially aggressive type of brain tumor.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, Ms. Longvall-Rivera went to her doctor complaining of a stubborn headache. She was diagnosed with a sinus infection, but a week later was in the emergency room still in pain.

A brain scan revealed a tumor that had been causing pressure to build up inside her skull, hence the painful headaches.

Two days later, the 43-year-old career social worker and mother was in an operating room at St. Vincent Hospital.

Doctors had initially told the family the tumor might not be malignant, recalled sister Deborah Floyd, but tests on the tumor cells brought more bad news in early December.

The biopsy showed Ms. Longvall-Rivera has a glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor that grows rapidly because the cancer cells are fed by a large network of blood vessels intended to support the brain.

Ms. Floyd said the family tries not to dwell on the standard prognosis, a year or so for most patients with this kind of brain tumor. A small portion of patients live several years, and Ms. Longvall-Rivera's family and friends are conceding nothing to the tumor.

Rather than preparing for any farewells, several of her Department of Youth Services colleagues and friends threw themselves into planning Sunday's fundraiser to make sure her medical expenses after insurance are fully covered and to help her husband, Manny, get by while taking care of his wife and their 7-year-old daughter, Lola.

"She's had some cognitive effects from the surgery, and she's still dealing with double vision that makes it hard to move around, but she's the best she's been since all this happened," Ms. Floyd said.

Ms. Longvall-Rivera has spent her entire career at the state youth services agency. She started as an intern and worked her way up from case worker to therapist to, recently, a new job in the commissioner's office heading the state program that sees to juveniles arrested at night, so they don't spend the entire night in a police station holding cell.

"She's incredibly dedicated and caring," said Nancy Carter, director of residential operations for the Department of Youth Services.

"We miss her daily. I miss her daily. We can't wait for her to get better."